Simple
by lilkyonkyon
Summary: He starts sitting next to her in class that day. And she thinks it's so strange, because she is the only girl in the class that doesn't want to sit by him. (But Hinata isn't about to say that.) Sasuke and Hinata. Oneshot.


While I admittedly enjoy reading Sasuke/Hinata fanfiction because it's adorable, I have a hard time justifying it without some serious alternate reality going on. But Hinata being a good friend to someone? Now that's more like it. Enjoy.

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 **Simple**

It doesn't matter how many first days of school she has already survived, Hinata is still terrified of them. All of her classmates dash to each other and giddily exchange hugs and stories, but she remains with her father, clinging tightly to his pant leg and cringing whenever someone comes close enough to speak. They would ask her questions, put her on the spot….

Hinata is seven this year, already frightened of speaking to others. Her classmates run to and fro, laughing and chatting and playing games with one another, ignoring her. Only Naruto makes sure to say hi to her as he walks by, because he is the exact opposite of her. At the brief greeting, she flushes a deep red and burrows her face into the back of her father's knee. He dismisses Naruto coldly and the boy scampers off, apparently unfazed. After a moment, Hinata draws away to watch him with envy as he skips from group to group, talking loudly to everyone. It always makes her sad to see him shunned, especially when he tries so hard to be a good person.

Hiashi gazes down at her. "Do not speak to that boy," he says—as if she could find the courage to speak to anyone—"he is not a connection that a Hyuuga desires." She doesn't know what to say, so she nods in acquiescence and forces herself to loosen her hold on him.

A large group of girls her age draws her eyes. They're clustered around a taller, sullen boy, even though he is not in their class. In fact, he already a graduate, judging by his forehead protector. Then Hinata understands—he is Sasuke's older brother, walking him to school. She can see Sasuke now. He is climbing up his brother like he would climb a tree, casting frowns down at the girls that crowd around his older brother's feet. Hinata can hear the girls asking what he did over the summer, and what he likes to do in class, and who he wants to sit next to—

With a blank face, his brother shoos the girls away and firmly places Sasuke on his own two feet. "Go to class," the older boy commands. Sasuke pouts.

"But the girls won't leave me alone. They're all acting so weird this year!"

His older brother crouches down and places a hand on his shoulder. They speak in quieter tones for a moment, and then he pokes Sasuke gently in the forehead before stalking away. She watches her classmate scrub at his forehead in annoyance. When he turns to go inside, though, his eyes catch hers and she blushes wildly at being caught staring. His face remains sullen.

And then he is gone.

"You will be late, daughter. Go." Her father gives her a small shove, and she stumbles reluctantly towards the front door. When she finally looks back to wave goodbye, he is already gone.

Hinata follows some of the others to her new classroom, where the other students are milling around, searching for seats with their friends. The group around Sasuke is unusually large and entirely female. Each time Naruto goes for a seat, someone else takes it.

At a loss, Hinata settles for a seat nearly in the corner of the room, close to the teacher's desk. She has always had an easier time communicating with adults, anyways—

A bookbag plops on the desk beside hers. She diligently pretends not to notice.

And then he speaks to her. "You're not crazy, are you?" he asks. It is Sasuke's voice. When she turns to gape at him, she sees how wary his eyes are.

Hinata, not sure what he means, blushes into her collar and shakes her head. No.

Sasuke allows himself a relieved sigh. "Good. All the other girls are crazy." And then he sits down next to her. Instantly, her breathing becomes shallow, and she can already feel other eyes on her. He sat between her and the wall, effectively shutting out every other student in the class. Why would he do that? Hinata buries her face in her hands. Why did he have to sit by her at all?

With Sasuke out of the picture, the other students find seats much more quickly.

Class begins, and she can hardly focus.

After a few weeks of the strange seating arrangement, he begins seeking her out at recess, too, when the boys aren't playing tag. Hinata finds that the more he's with her, the easier it is to speak with him. She tells him things that she didn't think she'd be able to tell anyone, because no one seemed to care before. But now he knows her favorite color, and her favorite doll's name, and why she always wears a coat. Sasuke tells her things about himself, in exchange—about his family, and his favorite playground, and how cool his brother is. "I wish I could be just like him," he says in earnest.

Then, the unthinkable happens. She had heard whispers from the adults, but she doesn't understand. How could anyone understand?

"…So, you see, Sasuke doesn't have a mom or a dad anymore. His family is waiting for him in heaven."

The class is utterly silent. Even though they are young, they can feel that something important has happened. Life-changing.

Sasuke's seat is empty beside her.

"Can he visit them?" Chouji asks from the back.

Iruka-sensei shakes his head wearily. "No, not right now. He will have to wait a long time."

Hinata risks a glance at Naruto, and for the first time, she doesn't see him smiling. His blue eyes are distant, and so heartbreaking that she has to look away.

"Is he going to get a new mommy?" says Sakura.

"I don't think that he'll get a new mommy, but he won't be alone. The Sandaime will help Sasuke for now."

There is quiet as the class absorbs this information.

"When will he be back?" demands Ino suddenly, and some of the other girls in the class pipe up in agreement.

Iruka-sensei bears the questions with patience, but Hinata's eyes, even without the Byakugan, can see the stress in his features. "Soon."

Sasuke is gone for a full month. The girls discuss a surprise party that Sasuke would surely hate. Some of the other boys begin to whisper that he might never be coming back. That he's sick, or that he ran away. Hinata doesn't know what to believe, but she passes the Uchiha compound every day and sees how unbearably empty it is.

Hinata almost dares to ask her father to send a present to the boy, but she can't quite wind up the courage. She draws him a picture of their favorite playground instead, and sneaks it onto her teacher's desk with a very nice note asking if he could please send it to Sasuke with the homework.

Then suddenly, he's back. He's on the playground before school without any ceremony. It hurts Hinata to see that he's completely alone. He doesn't stop to play with the other kids; he walks inside, ignoring the fact that all of the eyes on the playground are directed at him.

The bell rings, and the students scurry in for class. Sasuke's slowly unpacking his bookbag when the others enter the classroom. A few call out to him, saying hello, but Hinata is suddenly shy and only rushes past, face down and reddened. She assures herself that they will speak during recess.

But he doesn't even sit next to her. He finds a desk by himself, in a back corner, and won't speak to anyone except the teacher. When Ino asks him if he wants to share her lunch, Sasuke doesn't even flinch—he mutely stares at his desktop until she gives up and returns to her seat.

Nearly three weeks pass before Hinata finds the courage to break their silence. She goes as far as preparing a lunch large enough to share. He is sitting alone on the playground, watching their classmates with disinterested eyes. The girls are keeping tabs on him from afar, giggling and whispering, but none of them approach.

Hinata summons all of her courage and sits beside him. "H-hi, Sasuke-kun." She opens her lunchbox between them and nudges it closer. There is an extra pair of chopsticks for him, but she looks up when he doesn't take them right away.

He is watching her warily, just like the first day of school.

"You can share," she tells him gently. "With me."

He looks between her and the dumplings a few times, laboriously deliberating his response. He eventually ducks his head and mumbles, "No thank you."

His refusal hurts much more than his silence. Her cheeks burn, and she slides the lunchbox hesitantly back into her lap. Did she do something wrong? Was she supposed to help him in some other way? _Tell me_ , she cries inside. _I just want my friend back._ "Sasu—"

"Please. Leave me alone," he says to her. When she looks up again, Hinata is surprised to see that his eyes are brimming with tears.

Hers are, too.

With a hasty apology, she snaps her lunchbox shut and flees.

That is the end of their acquaintance. She often considers approaching him, but he seemed so bothered by the others that she becomes discouraged more often than not. No one else in the class knows her as well as he does, so she struggles alone to learn all the techniques. Sometimes, very rarely, she wishes that he was still her friend so that he could help her. More frequently, she wishes that she could help him.

It's lunch time again, and the students file out of the classroom together. Hinata pulls her lunchbox from her desk. Behind her, on the right, Naruto hastily clears his space, shoving papers away. He grabs his instant ramen and starts for the door, but his foot catches his chair, and he topples into Sasuke's desk, sending all of the other boy's papers to the ground. With only Hinata there to see the blunder, he doesn't even pretend that it was intentional; he scrubs the back of his head with his hand before immediately stooping to gather the sheets. Hinata, after a moment, helps—though her blush is ever-present. Together, they return the papers to the desk. "Thanks, Hinata-chan!" he calls while he dashes out to lunch.

Hinata doesn't answer, not that she would have ever been able to find the words anyway. Her eyes are fixated on the newly-stacked pile with shock.

Worn and faded, her old drawing is on the top.

 _For Sasuke, my friend._

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Having started this story two and a half years ago and only reading it again recently, I still feel the same as Hinata reading this story. I hope you do too. Please review.


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